


Decisions

by ShyGuyTsukasa



Category: Free!
Genre: F/M, Minor Injuries, Romance, Serious Injuries, Swimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:02:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24024781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShyGuyTsukasa/pseuds/ShyGuyTsukasa
Summary: This is the sequel to Iwatobi Swim club. It's Hikaru's final year in the swim club and her father is going to make sure it counts.
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

"Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai are late."

Hikaru, Rei and Nagisa were at the station. They were waiting for Haru and Makoto so they could go to Samezuka academy for 10:30. They were going to see the 3rd year send off race and they were already running late. Hikaru was all bundled up in a warm jacket, mittens and scarf. She was sitting down next to Nagisa and sipping on a hot chocolate.

Rei glanced at his watch and then looked over at Nagisa. "And aren't you overeating, Nagisa-kun?"

Nagisa met his gaze and smiled. "Want some Rei-chan?" He held up his pastry in the air, offering some to Rei.

"I'm fine, thank you."

"Do you want some, Hikaru-chan?" Nagisa offered to his cousin.

Hikaru looked over at him. "No thank you!" She replied.

"If you eat all that, you won't have room for lunch you know." Rei commented.

"He's right." Hikaru agreed.

"I'll be fine!" Nagisa assured them.

Hikaru stood up and went to put her empty hot chocolate cup in the garbage. Ah, it really hit the spot.

"Nagisa! Hikaru! Rei!" Makoto called. "Sorry we kept you waiting!" He said, running to them with Haru trailing behind.

Xxx

They finally got to Samezuka academy.

"Guys! Over here!" Gou called to them. She was already there.

"This is the third year send off race?" Makoto asked.

"Yep." Gou answered.

"What kind of harrowing race is it?" Nagisa asked.

"A 100m race, 100 times." A voice answered. "It's a Samezuka tradition to continue until someone beats the captain."

"Rin!"

"Hey. Thanks for coming."

"Rin!" Hikaru ran over to her boyfriend and gave him a hug. She had a big smile on her face.

Rin matched her smile. "Hey." He was looking forward to her coming and it made him happy that she was finally here.

"Have you raced him yet, Rin-chan?" Nagisa asked.

"No, not yet." Rin replied. He then shifted Hikaru so she was on his side and he had an arm around her waist.

"But logically speaking, racing 100 meters 100 times can't be possible." Rei pointed out.

"Captain Mikoshiba defies logic." Rin told him.

"I see…"

Captain Mikoshiba was getting out of the pool. "Hey! You guys came to watch too?" He grinned. "How about a race to mark the occasion?"

"Who, us?" Makoto asked.

"But, we're not even on your team!" Rei said.

"Hey, don't be shy!" Captain Mikoshiba exclaimed. "Let's go, Samezuka versus Iwatobi, 400m freestyle medley relay!" He turned to Rin. "Matsuoka, you're swimming in this one!"

Rin nodded. "Sure."

"Who else wants in?!"

"M-Me!" Nitori responded.

"Alright! Come on over, Nitori!" Mikoshiba said. "Okay, who else is on board? Nakagawa how about you?"

"W-Wait a second…"

"We already told you, we don't…"

"Yes! Absolutely!" Came Nakagawa's response, cutting off Rei.

Haru was striping down to his swimsuit.

"He was wearing his swim suit again…" Rei noticed.

"Guess there is no helping it."

"You said it."

"Huh?"

Nagisa and Makoto went over to their bags and pulled out their swim suits.

"Why do you have those?!"

"I had a feeling Haru would want to swim, so…"

"Traitors!" Rei yelled.

"Okay!" Hikaru was undressing. She had also worn her swimsuit under her clothes. "Captain Mikoshiba, can I take part in this relay?!"

"Of course you can!" His response was instant.

Hikaru gasped. "Really?!" She clasped her hands together.

He grinned. "Of course."

"Yes! Did you hear that R-" Hikaru paused. "Oh...that means you won't be swimming Rei."

Rei looked over at her then waved his hand. "Ah, don't worry. I don't mind." He gave her a smile. "You should experience swimming in a relay."

Hikaru's face lit up. "Thank you!"

"How did Matsuoka land a babe like her?"

"I don't know. Maybe she's…"

Rin sent a glare over to the two guys he overheard.

They immediately shut up.

"Rin! Did you hear? I'm swimming in the relay!" She smirked playfully. "I won't go easy on you."

Rin matched her smirk. "Well, bring it on."

Xxx

Nagisa shook his arms in frustration. "We were so close!"

"S-Sorry Nagisa, I think I was late on the exchange and Captain Mikoshiba is _waaaay_ faster than me." Hikaru apologized.

Makoto looked over at her. "You were great. Don't beat yourself up over this."

"Ya, Hikaru-chan! For your first relay, you were great!"

"I agree, Hikaru-senpai!"

"Yeah."

Hikaru smiled. "Thank you guys."

The sound of clapping directed their attention over to where all the members were standing.

"Rin-chan's the new captain?" Nagisa asked.

"He doesn't seem like the captain type to me…"

"What are you talking about?!" Gou hissed.

Hikaru was clapping along with them. She was happy that Rin became captain! But his facial expression told her that he didn't want to be.

Xxx

"Next, the swim club will introduce itself."

The stage light was on Gou, who was standing at the podium. "Our swim club began last spring, when we repaired the pool and started up the club ourselves." She said. "I am the swim club's manager, Matsuoka." She introduced. "And this is…" She looked at the stage. "Our treasurer!"

Nagisa came on stage by doing a handstand into a somersault and when he was standing back up, he opened up his hoodie which made the audience gasp.

He threw his hoodie in the air. "Second year, Hazuki Nagisa. My specialty is the breastroke." He started doing the motion of the breastroke. "My charm point is my calf muscles, for sure!"

"Our vice-captain!"

Haru came on stage by doing a cart wheel. He lifted his hoodie to show his abs, earning a gasp from the audience, and then fully took it off and threw it in the air. "Third year, Nanase Haruka. My specialty is freestyle." He showed the audience by doing the freestyle stroke. "My charm point is my triceps."

"Our secretary!"

Rei came onto the stage by doing a spin. When he landed on his feet, he opened up his jacket which earned no reaction from the audience. Then he threw off his hoodie. "Second year, Ryugazaki Rei! My specialty is the butterfly stroke!" He showed them by doing his stroke. "My charm points are my deltoids and biceps!"

"Our captain!"

Makoto walked on stage, head down, embarrassed to be there. He had his back turned and he also took off his hoodie and threw it up in the air. That earned him no reaction from the audience. He was blushing of embarrassment. "Third year, Tachibana Makoto. My speciality is the backstroke!" He started moving his arms backwards. He then turned his head toward the audience. "My charm point is my back muscles!"

"And finally, our only female member!"

Hikaru did a front flip on stage. "H-Hi there!" She flushed. "W-Wait…I-" She stammered. _I'm totally messing up!_ She unzipped her hoodie and threw it in the air. The male audience cheered. "Third year, Hazuki Hikaru. My specialty is the freestyle too!" She mimicked Haru. "And my charm point is…" She paused for affect. "…my smile!"

"We look forward to welcoming new members with fabulous muscles!"

xxx

Lucky for them, there were new members. But all of them were male. There were about 10 males lined up in front of Makoto, eager to introduce themselves to the swim team and especially Hikaru.

 _They aren't here to swim are they?_ Makoto thought after seeing all 10 guys surrounding Hikaru.

And Makoto was right. After finding out Hikaru had a boyfriend, all 10 guys immediately lost interest in the swim club and all retreated into the school.

All members were stunned in silence.

"What."

"Just."

"HAPPENED?!"

Hikaru bowed really low. "I'm so sorry!"

Makoto put a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault."

Rei faced Gou with his hands out. "I told you we shouldn't have done the 'charm point' thing." He air quoted.

"Don't pretend you weren't enjoying it!" Gou retorted.

"Does anyone have any other ideas for recruiting members?" Nagisa asked.

"Offer a year's worth of Iwatobi-chans."

"No one wants that."

"Draw a comic strip on our recruitment posters."

"We tried that last year."

"We could parade through the school halls in our swimsuits." Nagisa suggested.

"That could work!" Gou clasped her hands to her cheeks.

"No way!"

"Don't be stingy, Rei-kun."

"That's not the issue!" Rei shot back.

Xxx

It was Rin's first day as a captain. He was embarrassed when all eyes were on him and he was uncomfortable with this new role. After speaking with potential members of the swim club, he was carried away by his thoughts. Was he really the right person for this? Will he be a good captain? Why had Captain Mikoshiba trusted him of all people with this role?

A buzzing noise snapped him out of his thoughts. Rin dug into his pockets and pulled out his phone. It was a text from Hikaru.

_*I hope swim practice is going well. You'll be a great captain, I know it!*_

Rin smiled while reading the text. He quickly responded.

_*Thank you, I feel less nervous now. I'll let you know how it went.*_

_Her reply was almost instant. *Okay!*_

Xxx

After practice, they had gone to see Miss Amakata about opening up the school's pool. She pointed out that it was too cold to swim but suggested if they could use Coach Sasabe's pool at his swim club. So after school, they headed over there and they asked him if they could use it.

Luckily, he agreed! He said that they would use it to practice for the upcoming tournaments.

Xxx

Rin was invited to the school pool but when he opened the door, he couldn't see anything. Then suddenly something was put over his head and arms were wrapping around him.

"Bring him!"

"What the…Hey! Let me go!" What in the hell were they doing?

"Come along quietly."

"What? Hey!"

"Haru-chan, the sentence ending!"

"Come along quietly, moge." Haru corrected.

"Don't 'moge' me! Let go!"

"Oh no, don't take my brother away!"

"Gou? You're here too?!"

"Guys, this maybe isn't a good idea. I mean, be careful!"

"Hikaru! You're here too!"

"Rin, stop kicking!"

"Will you guys give it a-" The helmet was taken off of Rin's head so quickly, allowing him to look at the pool and pause.

The school pool was covered in cherry blossoms.

Rin stared in awe. It was so beautiful.

"When we were in grade school, you once said that you wanted to swim in a pool of cherry blossoms." Haru said.

"When we saw our pool filled with cherry blossoms, we wanted to show you too." Makoto smiled.

"You guys…" Rin was taken aback. He turned away and wiped away some tears that welled up in his eyes.

Hikaru smiled at him.

"Rin-san, go for it."

"Huh?" He looked up at them.

"Go for it!" Each member repeated.

"Well I do want to swim in it, but it's kind of cold." Rin pointed out.

"I want to swim in it also! It looks so pretty!" Hikaru turned to her boyfriend. "Can I join you, Rin?" She had grin on her face.

Rin matched her gaze and smiled. "Yeah, of course." He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Unfortunately, it started to rain.


	2. Chapter 2

Coach Sasabe had planned a splash fest at the swim club to promote its grand opening. Gou, Hikaru and the boys were putting up the posters everywhere they could. They had planned events for everyone to enjoy, including a relay race. Makoto had called Rin to ask him if he and his team would participate in the event. So Rin put together a team and headed to the swim club.

"You liar! You said you were taking me someplace with lots of cute girls!" A boy with orange hair whined.

"Quit whining! There _are_ plenty here!" Rin argued. "See? Cute girls!" He pointed to all the elementary kids.

"I've been tricked, nii-chan!" He cried out.

"Where's Sousuke?" Rin asked.

"Oh? He was here a while ago." Nitori responded.

"Let go!"

"Quit flailing!" Rin barked.

"I'm going home!"

"You're late!"

"I'm going-" The boy paused after hearing a girls' voice.

"Onii-chan!" Gou exclaimed, running over to them.

"Hey Gou." Rin greeted.

"Good morning!" Gou chirped.

"Wait a second." The boy got out of Rin's grip and looked at Gou. "You're…cute."

_There's no mistaking it._

_They're definitely brothers._

"Hi guys!" Hikaru chirped. "Sorry about that, I was in the bathroom." She had went over to them, smiling.

Rin grinned. "Hey."

The boy's attention went to Hikaru. "You're cute as well!"

"O-Oh? Thanks?"

Rin was feeling jealous. "Ha, ha, ha…no." He deadpanned. "She's off limits, you hear me?"

"Why is that?" The boy challenged.

"Hikaru-senpai is Matsuoka-senpai's girlfriend." Nitori explained.

"…A-Ah, I'm sorry! I didn't know." The boy stammered. This guy was intimidating enough as it is; he didn't want to get on his bad side. Although, he didn't say his sister was off limits.

Rin sighed. "You're right, you didn't know. I _guess_ I could forgive you."

"What?! Oh, come _oooooonnnn_!"

Xxx

The boy had introduced himself as Momotarou Mikoshiba. He was the younger brother of Captain Mikoshiba and was the one that the captain was talking about when there was going to be a "fearsome new face".

Momotarou was a great swimmer. Hikaru was impressed at how fast he was. And Iwatobi beating Samezuka in a photo finish, the splash fest was done. Hikaru had a great time and was able to swim with some of the kids.

The swim club was currently at school on their lunch breaks. They were at their usual spots on the roof; the swimmers were sitting down looking up at the manager, who was ready to announce something.

"So…there is but one reason I gathered you all here today!" Gou started.

"What 'one reason' do you mean?" Rei asked.

"No needless back-talk!" Gou replied, shoving a finger in his face.

"Yes, m'am."

"Gou-chan, you're scary." Nagisa told her.

Gou ignored that. "As prefecturals will soon be upon us, I shall be conducting a surprise bento check today!" She announced.

"What?" The swimmers chorused.

"No complaining!" She shot back.

"As athletes, eating a balanced diet is part of your training!"

"My diet is completely balanced." Haru told her.

Gou stretched out her hand. "Then please let me see yours, Haruka-senpai."

Haru pulled out his bento and pulled off the top. His bento was filled with rice and had a piece of mackerel on the side.

"That's not balanced at all!" Gou said. "Haruka-senpai, this gets 43 points! Your lunch is too simple!"

 _We're getting points for this?_ Hikaru thought, rummaging in her bag to prepare to show her bento.

"Next, Makoto-senpai!"

Makoto showed his bento.

"Wow that looks yummy!" Nagisa commented.

"Do you really think so?" Makoto asked.

"Makoto-senpai…"

"Huh?"

"68 points."

"Huh?!"

"There is nothing but meat in here and not enough vegetables!" Gou looked over at Rei. "Next, Rei-kun!"

"Certainly! Go ahead and examine my bento all you like!" Rei told her. He showed off his bento. "See how it's full of leafy green vegetables! Please also note the care with which the arrangement of the components was made, based on theory!"

"He went all out." Hikaru commented.

"That's Rei-chan for you."

"What do you think?" Rei asked. "Is this not beauty approaching perfection?"

Gou was not impressed. "Rei-kun…"

"Huh?"

"63 points."

"That's ridiculous!"

"You were too focused on the beauty that you failed to make a balanced meal! There is not remotely enough meat in here. You need more protein! With a lunch like this, your muscles will never grow!"

"No!"

Gou sighed and rested her hand under her chin. "Honestly, I'm worried about all of your muscles." She focused her attention on Nagisa. "Next, Nagisa-kun…"

"Lookie lookie!" Nagisa was holding an Iwatobi cream bread in each hand. "It has strawberry jam, marmalade and even chocolate, all for 480 yen!" He grinned. "So cheap!"

"That's expensive!" Gou and Rei argued.

"Plus, your juice has no actual fruit juice in it. It's all carbs and sugar!" Gou stated, while examining the juice box.

"But I like that juice…"

"No buts! Nagisa-kun, 0 points! Don't you have any awareness that you're an athlete?! Actually, this problem goes beyond your nutrition as an athlete!"

"You didn't have to say all that."

"Don't baby him!" Gou shot back.

Hikaru gulped. She was next.

"Hikaru-senpai, your turn."

Hikaru pulled the top off and showed Gou her bento.

Gou observed the bento.

Hikaru was feeling nervous. She hoped it would get a good score.

"Hikaru-chan…" Gou stared at her blankly.

"Y-Yes?"

"100 points!" Gou exclaimed.

"HUH?!"

"How did that get 100 points?!" Rei asked her.

"It has the sufficient amount of veggies and the sufficient amount of meat, with rice and omelet on the side. It's perfect."

"…Oh thank you." Hikaru gave her a smile.

"As your manager, I'll do all I can to support your endeavors to develop perfect bodies!"

Xxx

Hikaru got home and closed the door. She took her shoes off and put her slippers on. That was one of the things she looked forward to when she got home. She passed by her father who was watching TV in the living room. "I'm home."

"Are you going to practice today?" Not even a 'hi', 'hello' or 'how was your day'. It was the first thing he asked when she got home. She kept saying she was home in hopes he would greet her back before always asking that question.

Hikaru nodded. "Yeah. I'm just going to put my stuff away and get some homework done."

"Mhm." Came his response.

Hikaru walked to her room. She was glad he cared about her studies; otherwise she would have gone right away. She didn't even have homework; she just wanted to relax. She was practicing hard already for prefecturals; she didn't want to overwork her body. She was already starting to get sore; she didn't want to make it worse.

"You better practice." Came her father's voice.

Hikaru flinched. His tone of voice sent shivers down her spine.

"Remember our deal."

Hikaru froze.

"… _I'll make sure you win."_

" _No, no, no. I'm done, I had enough. I'm not doing that stuff anymore. I like swimming with my friends for fun. You can't make me go through all that stuff again."_

" _Hikaru, you don't have a choice here."_

" _Why not?! Why don't I ever have a choice?!"_

" _Do you want to stay at Iwatobi high school?"_

" _What? Of course I do!"_

" _Then be the best. We're going to be training for next year's tournament and that you come out on top. If not, I'll fill in the papers and have you out of Iwatobi high school quickly as possible. Do we have a deal?"_

"… _Yes."_

Hikaru took slow breaths to calm herself down. She had to do this for her father, if not, she'd be kicked out of a school she actually loved to go to. Everyone was so nice and she had made amazing friends. To think that he could take it away in an instant really showed how scary her father really was. She prepared her swim gear and put it in her gym bag. She left her room and passed the living room. Her father was still there. "I'm heading out."

Mr. Hazuki looked over at his daughter. "Don't come home late."

Hikaru nodded and left the house. Wow, so he does care…a little. She then headed over to where she usually swam at night.

The Samezuka swimming pool.


	3. Chapter 3

It was finally the day for prefecturals. Hikaru woke up for 7am since she had to meet everyone for 8am. She got out of bed, washed her face and went to prepare breakfast. To her surprise, her father was already awake. "Good morning." He said, not looking up at her.

Again, Hikaru was surprised. Because on the table, was a plate of bacon and eggs prepared for her. "Eat up." Mr. Hazuki said in a low voice. He took a sip of his coffee and set the cup back down.

Hikaru nodded and then started eating.

"How are you getting to the stadium?" Mr. Hazuki asked.

Hikaru swallowed. "I'm meeting my friends there." This was getting weird, why was he starting a conversation at the table? It made her uncomfortable.

Mr. Hazuki simply nodded in reply and focused his attention back to the newspaper he was reading.

Hikaru sighed and kept eating. When she was done eating, she rinsed her plate, glass and fork then left it in the sink. She went to brush her teeth then headed to her room to get dressed. She put her bag over her shoulder s and headed to the door. "I'm off." She called out.

"I'll be there to watch your event."

Hikaru smiled a bit as she put her shoes on. Was he going to cheer for her?

"Don't disappoint me."

Hikaru froze. Oh, that was all he cared about. She shook those thoughts out of her head and headed to the meeting place.

Xxx

"And let's win our way to the top, all the way to nationals!" Makoto exclaimed, raising his arm in the air.

"Yeah!" The rest of the team chorused, also raising their arms in the air.

First, it was Nagisa's event. He had gotten first place and passed the preliminaries.

Next, it was Makoto's event. He also had gotten first place and passed the preliminaries.

Third, it was Rei's event. He got first place and passed the preliminaries.

Next, it was the 200m freestyle. Haru and Makoto were both swimming in that event. Makoto had entered because he wanted to race Haru. Unfortunately for Makoto, Haru had won.

Next was the 100m freestyle race. Rin vs. Haru. It was a photo finish with Haru narrowly beating Rin by 0.02 seconds.

xxx

With the men's individual events done, they started with the women's individual events.

Hikaru got ready for her event. The 100m freestyle. She looked up to see her father in the stands. She started to get nervous.

"GO HIKARU-CHAN!"

"GO HIKARU-SENPAI!"

"YOU CAN DO IT!"

Hikaru looked over at her teammates and smiled. She gave them a wave then turned over to where Samezuka academy was.

Rin matched her gaze and smiled. He gave her a thumbs up.

"GO HIKARU-SENPAI!" Momo shouted.

Rin glanced at him.

"I'm just cheering for her…"

"Go Hikaru-senpai!" Nitori cheered.

"Oh so _he_ could do it, but I can't?"

"That's because _he_ didn't flirt with her like you did."

"Oh…"

Hikaru stood in position and jumped in the water.

"GO GO GO GO GO HIKARU!"

"SWIM SWIM SWIM SWIM HIKARU!"

Rin blinked. He was surprised at how fast she was going. She must have been practicing hard for the past year. Her body was more toned after all.

Sousuke watched her swim. All that extra training at Samezuka must have paid off.

Hikaru got to the end and touched the side of the pool.

_1_ _st_ _place – Hikaru Hazuki_

"Hikaru got first place!" Gou exclaimed.

"Good job, Hikaru-senpai!"

"She qualified!"

Rin grinned.

Hikaru panted heavily, still inside of the pool. She got first place, which should make her father happy. She tried getting out of the pool but was struggling. She had swum really hard and now it was starting to hit her. _No…_ She pulled herself out of the pool and stood. She lifted her hands and waved at her teammates.

Xxx

"You all swam at full strength today, so you must be hungry." Miho said.

"This is quite the selection of carb-heavy foods…" Rei observed.

"I made it!" Gou told them. "Carbs are great when you have a competition the next day!"

"Protein powder again? Is it strawberry flavor?" Nagisa asked.

"Not today." Gou responded. "But if you want to add some on top…"

"Seriously, don't!" Makoto and Rei said in unison.

"All of you are truly amazing!" Miho praised. "To think, everyone qualified for regionals!"

"It's because of my great coaching." Coach Sasabe said proudly.

"Huh? But Goro-chan, you've been so busy with SC returns…" Nagisa started putting some of the stuff Gou had given him on his food.

"Err…Nagisa, you're putting too much of that stuff." Hikaru cut him off.

"…you've hardly shown up at all this year." Nagisa finished.

"It's the quality of my coaching that counts not the quantity!" Coach Sasabe explained. "Though, more than anything, it's your talent and hard work that got you here."

"Yep yep, we can do anything we set our minds to!"

Watching Nagisa eat his noodles with all that strawberry topping was making Rei, Makoto and Hikaru feel sick.

"Nagisa-kun, you're letting our wins get to your head." Rei turned to Haru. "But Haruka-senpai, you really were outstanding today." He grinned. "Impressive as always!" He added.

"Not really."

"No, it was truly impressive! You don't often see a time like that."

"So all that's left is tomorrow's relay?" Goro Sasabe asked. "If you keep up today's momentum, I bet you'll beat Samezuka again!"

"We're finally going to race Rin-san's team in an official match." Rei said.

"Rei, it'll be okay." Haru reassured. "You don't swim in a relay alone. It takes a team of four." He stated. "And with these four, we could go as far as we want."

"Haruka-senpai." Rei gave him a smile. "Let's go all the way to nationals!"

"Nationals, huh?"

"We might really stand the chance of getting to the nationals!"

"Of course we can get there!" Hikaru exclaimed, getting all their attention. "We all have been working hard. All that hard work will pay off!"

"Yes, we're going to go to nationals!" They cheered.

Xxx

The men's 200m relay was starting. Iwatobi vs. Samezuka.

It was really close but Samezuka had won.

After the prefecturals were done, they all had qualified for regionals.

The next day at school, they saw a banner on the side of the school.

* **Congrats on qualifying for regionals!*** It said.

"Wow, they made a real banner for us this year." Rei commented.

Xxx

The next day after practicing at school with her team, Hikaru headed home. She entered the house and closed the door. She then took off her shoes and went straight to her room. She flopped down on her bed and relaxed. Her phone buzzed 5 minutes later. She opened the top and saw it was a text from Rin.

_*Hey, I'm sorry that I wasn't able to talk to you today. I do have something special planned for you in a few days.*_

_*Something special?*_

_*It's a surprise.*_

_*Oh, alright. I'll be looking forward to that._ _*_

Hikaru smiled and set her phone down.

"Hikaru."

Hikaru jumped and turned to her door. Her father stood there with his arms crossed.

"Yes?"

"You passed the preliminaries. That's good." Mr. Hazuki said in a low voice.

"Y-Yeah."

"Regionals are approaching. Don't forget to practice." He told her.

"Yes, of course." Hikaru was going to keep her answers short. She didn't want him to be in her room anymore. She wanted him to get out. But she couldn't exactly ask him that could she?

"That includes tonight."

" _Tonight_?" That escaped Hikaru's lips before she could stop herself. "I mean, yes. I will." She corrected quickly.

"Good." He then left her room.

Hikaru let out a sigh and packed her things to go to practice at Samezuka.

Xxx

After practicing in the Samezuka swimming pool, Hikaru prepared her things and exited the pool area. As she was exiting, she bumped into Sousuke.

"O-Oh sorry!" She apologized quickly.

Sousuke looked at the person he bumped into. "It's okay." He knew this girl. She was Rin's girlfriend. Rin had introduced him to her at prefecturals. She was really nice and he was impressed by her swimming.

Hikaru smiled and went past him.

"What are you doing here?" Sousuke asked.

Hikaru stopped in her tracks. "I went to see-"

"Bullshit."

Hikaru's eyes widened and she turned to face him.

Sousuke stared back at her, brows furrowed. "Tell me." He demanded.

"I come here to practice." Hikaru replied.

"Come? So you practice here a lot?"

"Yeah."

"Well, be careful. You might overwork your body. You wouldn't want to worry your team and Rin would you?" Sousuke told her.

Hikaru frowned. _Rin…she couldn't tell him._ "You too, be careful."

"What do you mean?"

"Your shoulder injury."

Sousuke's eyes widened. "H-How do you know that?" He asked.

"While watching the relay the other day, I noticed you hesitated for a second." Hikaru explained. "And just now. I bumped into your right side and I saw you flinch."

Sousuke's brows furrowed. _She found out so easily._

"Did you tell Rin?" Hikaru asked.

"No." Came his reply.

"Why not?"

"Because, it's not the right time." Sousuke wanted to avoid this conversation as soon as possible.

"What do you mean this isn't the right time?"

"Will you just let it go?" Sousuke was getting annoyed.

"No, I won't!" Hikaru exclaimed. "This could get serious! You have to stop, what if you'll never be able to swim again?"

"I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!" Sousuke shouted.

Hikaru fell silent and frowned.

"Yamazaki-senpai? Hikaru-senpai?" Came a voice.

Nitori stood there, looking worried.

Hikaru gave them a little nod and began to walk home.

Nitori watched her go. "Yamazaki-senpai, what happened?"

"Nothing, let's go and train."

"O-Oh okay." Nitori headed into the swim area to get ready for their training lesson.

Sousuke kept staring in the direction where she left. The last thing she said really hit him. Because it was like he wasn't the only person she was talking about.


	4. Chapter 4

Makoto and Hikaru were at the swim club that Coach Sasabe had re-opened.

"Gather 'round!" Coach Sasabe instructed. "Okay, everybody here?" He asked.

5 kids stood in front of Makoto, Hikaru and Coach Sasabe.

"Makoto, Hikaru, introduce yourselves."

"R-Right…uh..." Makoto cleared his throat. "Hello there. I'm Tachibana Makoto and I'll be helping you coach starting today."

"And my name is Hazuki Hikaru and I'll also be helping you guys coach today." Hikaru gave them a smile.

"It's nice to meet you!" They bowed in unison.

"Nice to meet you!" The 5 kids exclaimed in unison.

Xxx

Hikaru and Makoto had to go and see Coach Sasabe about their times during prefecturals. When they arrived at the swim club, they saw that he was rushing to get his things together and was in a hurry. Because of their kind hearts, Makoto and Hikaru offered to volunteer at the swim club to help Coach Sasabe out.

They were currently at the swim club standing in front of the 5 kids. Hikaru and Makoto were both standing in front of them. They wore the same full body swim suit that Coach Sasabe had provided them with.

"We're ready to practice!" The kids exclaimed.

"Let's have a great practice."

"Coach Tachibana, Coach Hazuki, what are we doing today?" One kid asked.

Makoto kneeled to their level. "Why don't we start by practicing with our butterfly kick?" He suggested.

"Okay!"

Hikaru was a little nervous which was why she wasn't saying much.

"Come on, Coach Hazuki!" One kid grabbed her hand and led her to the pool.

"Y-Yes!" Hikaru followed and smiled happily.

Xxx

First, the kids did the butterfly kick. They sat on the ledge of the pool and started kicking their feet.

Next, they all went underwater and held their breath. But Makoto noticed that one kid hadn't gone underwater.

Then, the kids started to use the kickboard to swim. After using the kick board, they swam on their own with help from Makoto and Hikaru. Hikaru and Makoto were holding the kids' hands and made sure that they didn't drown.

The hour had gone by really quickly because now, practice was done.

"Thank you very much!" They said in unison. All the kids had run to the exit where their parents were waiting for them.

"Bye bye, Coach Tachibana!"

"Bye bye, Coach Hazuki!"

"See you later!"

"Bye!" Makoto and Hazuki both waved.

Xxx

After a couple of days of coaching the kids, Makoto and Hikaru weren't able to coach anymore. Coach Sasabe had hired a new part timer so they didn't need to volunteer anymore. Hikaru was upset because she really liked coaching the kids.

Makoto was waiting outside for her while she changed. He looked at his watch. She was in there for quite a while and he had a feeling why.

Hikaru had finally left the changing room with her bag in her hands. "Oh…Makoto." Why was he waiting for her? He usually left right away.

"Hikaru."

Hikaru almost jumped. "Y-Yes?"

"Let's walk home together." He said.

"O-Oh…I 'm actually not headed there, I'm headed to…"

"Hikaru, every night you headed somewhere after practice. Where?" He asked. "You know you can talk to me about it."

"Wrong? There isn't anything wrong."

"Hikaru, I know there is something wrong."

"What makes you say that?"

"When you swim, you tense up. It's as if you're hurt when you swim." Makoto told her. "What happened? Are you injured?" He asked.

Hikaru absentmindly dropped her bag. Was it really showing during her coaching? Had it been that obvious? "I-I go practice at Samezuka every night."

"With anybody?"

"No, by myself." Hikaru replied. "And in secret." She added. The truth was spilling out. She kept it for this long and she couldn't anymore.

"Secret? So no one knows about it? Then how do you get there?"

"My dad was the swim team captain when he was at Samezuka academy. He never gave back the key for the pool."

"So you train there _every_ night? Even if we trained at practice?"

Hikaru nodded.

"Well you have to stop; you could over work your body. That's not a good thing."

Hikaru tried holding back those tears that threatened to spill out of her eyes. At least this was happening in front of Makoto and not in front of anyone else. "I-I can't…" She choked out.

Makoto's eyes widened.

The tears were coming down her cheeks. "I want to talk to him, but I can't! I'm scared to. He makes me swim every night. He wants me to get scouted and swim on a team. But I don't _want_ that!" She cried. "I liked coaching the little kids; he wants me to do the opposite and I know I'll have to do what he wants because I can never do what I want." She buried her face in her hands. "It's making me wish that I never started swimming." She confessed with her voice low.

Makoto walked up to her and hugged her carefully. "I'm sorry to hear that. Am I the only one who knows?"

"Ya." Came her reply.

"And…you're injured right?"

"Yeah."

Makoto closed his eyes. "Okay, well tonight…you come over to my house and then go home after." He said. "That way, you won't get in trouble because he technically doesn't know where you are."

Hikaru nodded and hugged him back. "Thank you." She whispered. She was grateful. "Thank you." She said again. And she really meant it.

Xxx

When Hikaru got home, she did her normal routine. She didn't want her father to figure something out. After, she went straight to her room. She avoided eye contact with her father and had little conversation. Just the usual "I'm home" escaped her lips. She finished some homework and then realized that Rin had sent her a text.

_*Hey, tomorrow after school come to Samezuka academy. I have a surprise planned for you.*_

Hikaru smiled when she read the text. _*Okay, I'll be there.*_

Surprise, eh? Now, what could Rin be talking about?

Xxx

The next day, Hikaru headed over to Samezuka after school to meet Rin. She was still wearing her swim club track suit to cover up the date clothes. It fooled her father at least, that was what counted. He didn't notice anything or ask any questions. He simply requested that she didn't come home late and that was it. She was carrying her gym bag with her swim suit so she could change before she got home. She was doing everything she could so her father didn't find out that she skipped swim practice. She was coming face to face with a figure and she smiled. "Hi Rin." She greeted.

Rin stared at her and smiled back. "Hi."

Hikaru started feeling hot. Oh wait. "Give me a second." She started taking her sweater and track pants off.

A blush crept up on Rin's face. "What are you doing?"

"Undressing." Came her response. She stuffed the sweater in her bag and started on the track pants.

His blush reddened. "Ya, but why?"

"Well, because then…" Hikaru stopped herself. "I mean…I…" She was drawing a blank. She didn't know what to say. She stuffed her track pants in her bag and revealed she was wearing shorts and a nice blouse.

Rin had a feeling. He shrugged it off. "Well come on, reservations are at 7."

"Reservations?" Hikaru wondered. "We're going to a restaurant?"

"Yeah." Rin said softly. He then surprised her by giving her the 18 roses he hid behind his back. And with a blush, said the thing that brought her to tears.

"Happy birthday, Hikaru."

Xxx

They settled down in a nice restaurant. They had both placed their orders and were now waiting. Hikaru and Rin's hands were resting on the table and their fingers were linked.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been able to see you." Rin apologized.

Hikaru shook her head. "It's okay, Rin. You're busy with your team. At least we're spending time together now!" She gave him a smile.

Rin smiled back. "I guess you're right." Then he trailed off. "I just…" His grip on her hand tightened.

"Oh Rin…" Hikaru cupped his cheek with her hand. "Get that idea out of your head." She said. "Even though we don't spend a lot of time together, you still text me every day and we talk on the phone, so I'm not going anywhere."

Rin smiled happily and kissed her cheek.

Xxx

Their food finally came and they started eating.

"Are you guys ready for regionals?"

"Yes! We're ready. You guys?" Hikaru asked as she took a bite of her food.

"Yup!" He grinned.

Hikaru smiled and swallowed. "I might be on a different team, but I'll still be cheering for you, Nitori, Sousuke and Momo. But I'll cheer the loudest for you!"

Rin grinned at her. "You better."

"Of course I will!"

Xxx

After finishing their meal, it was time for them to go. It was getting late and the regionals were the next day.

"Bye Rin." She gave him a kiss.

"Bye Hikaru." He kissed her back. "See you tomorrow."

"See you!"

"Text me when you get home."

"Will do!"

"Be careful."

"I will!"

"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you home?" Rin asked. It was late at night and he was worried that something might happen to her.

Hikaru shook her head. "No! It's okay." She reassured. She couldn't risk her father seeing Rin. If she found out she was with him, her father would be upset and Hikaru didn't want that.

Rin nodded and walked back to his dorm.

Hikaru walked home. She had changed back into her swim club track suit. Thank god it was the evening. It was getting chilly and it gave her the breeze she needed to cool off with. She got home and locked the door. "I'm home."

"Hikaru."

Hikaru knocked off her running shoes and headed to the living room where her father's voice came from. By the look on his face, he was not happy.

Hikaru's heart skipped a beat and she dropped her bag.

"You weren't training were you?"

"No, I was…"

He cut her off. "What were you doing?"

Hikaru swallowed. How did he know? He _was_ going to found out, wasn't he? "I was out with Rin." She confessed. She didn't want him to find out in the first place but his stare really scared her and if she lied, he would probably get madder. She couldn't risk that.

"Rin…" He thought for a bit. "Your _boyfriend_." He spat.

"Yes."

"Regionals are tomorrow and you're wasting training to go and fool around with a boy."

"I was just having dinner, what is the big deal?"

"IT'S A BIG DEAL!" He shouted. "YOU HAVE TO WIN!"

"What does it matter to you?!"

He stood up and took a step towards her. "EVERYTHING!"

Hikaru took a giant step back and hit the wall. What she saw at that moment put everything together and she figured out why her father was like that.

"You were a swimmer weren't you?"

Hiro Hazuki fixed the sling that was supporting his right arm. Yes indeed, he was a swimmer. A great one at that. Unfortunately, he injured his right shoulder badly and is unable to swim anymore. "I was." He replied. "But not anymore."

"You were on the Samezuka swim team."

"I was the _captain._ "

"I know, dad."

Hiro Hazuki inhaled sharply. Moments of his past that he didn't want to remember flashed before his eyes. He covered his eyes with his left hand. "Hikaru, it's getting late. Go to bed. You have the regionals tomorrow." He told her. "You need your rest."

Hikaru nodded and headed to her room. She set down her gym bag and started packing it. Since she was wearing her track suit, she undressed and put it to the side to wear for tomorrow. She then took off her date clothes and put it back in the drawers. She put on her pajama's, brushed her teeth and climbed into bed. Hikaru was glad that her father didn't tell her to go and train at that moment. She was really tired after that long day. She had trained at swim practice anyways. Her constant training overworked her body and it hurt to do anything. It even hurt for her to get dressed just before. She clutched the teddy bear that Rin had gotten her on their 2nd date. What if something bad happens to her tomorrow?


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Hikaru was eating breakfast slowly. Her event was tomorrow and she was really nervous for it.

The house was quiet and empty with her father gone. Hikaru stayed behind because she was meeting her team in their usual meet-up place. What really surprised her was when he offered her a lift to get there. She politely declined his offer; however, she secretly did want to be in the car with him as he drove with one hand and talk with him about anything.

Hikaru finished her plate and went to put it in the sink. She added her glass in the sink and walked to her room. She flinched and propped herself on the wall. Her body was straining even worse, to the point that she couldn't stretch anymore. She was really scared that something might happen to her during her event. She went to prepare her bag and get dressed. She even had trouble with getting dressed.

It was now 8am. It was time to meet the swim team so they could take the bus to the hotel.

… _Hotel._

Hikaru was glad that they were staying at a hotel but that meant she needed to pack yet another bag. Another _duffel_ bag and that meant more weight to support on her strained shoulders. She didn't want anyone to worry nor did she want to show any signs of injury.

Maybe she could ask Makoto to carry her bag.

Xxx

"The hotel is huge!" Nagisa exclaimed.

"It's quite a step-up from our hotel last year." Rei commented.

"You don't think that only Gou-chan, Hikaru-chan and Miss Ama-chan are staying here and we're getting stuck in a tent?" Makoto asked.

"Like at our training camp last year?!" Rei recalled.

"What are you talking about?" Gou asked.

"That's right; you're the stars of this show after all." Miho smiled.

Hikaru sighed of relief. They were staying in the hotel, thank god. She was only carrying one of her bags since Makoto offered to take the other. She felt bad that he was carrying three but she honestly couldn't carry it anymore. Her duffel bag didn't have a lot of things in it anyways, just the essentials.

"GOU-SAN!"

"Onii-chan's team!"

Rin and his team were entering the hotel.

Rin's eyes lit up. "Hikaru!" He grinned. "You guys are staying here too?"

Hikaru stared at Rin. She should have told him. But he's so busy with his team that he can't worry about her now. He has his own things to worry about. But the look on his face…she didn't want to take that away. "Y-Yeah." She replied. She was quiet the whole bus ride and those were the first words she spoke since her father offered the lift.

Rin grinned. "That's great!"

Hikaru nodded. "Y-Yeah."

Rin took a step towards her and went for a hug.

Hikaru took a step back. She didn't want him to hug or touch her. He'd find out. "Ah…I'm just nervous that's all." She said. "Everyone is going to be watching me."

Rin nodded. "That's right. You have the 100m race." He grinned. "I'll be in the stands cheering you on. You'll do great and someone will be sure to scout you."

Hikaru nodded and smiled. She'd have to make a mental note to talk to him about that too. She leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

The faint blush that appeared on his cheeks indicated that he was not expecting that.

"C-Come on, Gou. Let's go and check out our hotel room." Hikaru began walking to the elevator.

"Oh, yes! Coming!" Gou began to follow her. "Bye onii-chan!"

"Oh Haru, let's go!" Makoto followed the two girls. "I want to see our room too!"

"Okay." Haru followed them to the elevator.

"Let's go too, Rei-chan!" Nagisa chirped, following them.

"Wait, Nagisa-kun!"

Xxx

Everyone relaxed and got settled in the hotel room. There were no events today; they were just getting settled in. Hikaru took a nap. She remembered last year that she really wanted to share a hotel room with Gou so she wouldn't be alone, but now that's she's actually sharing a room with Gou, it gives Gou more of a chance to find out about her injury. She shook those thoughts aside and dozed off.

xxx

Hikaru woke up a couple of hours later to knocks on her door.

"Hikaru-chaaaan!" Came Nagisa's voice.

"Shush, Nagisa-kun. She's probably sleeping."

"Well ya, Rei-chan. I'm knocking so that she can wake up."

Hikaru giggled and rubbed her eyes. "Coming!" She got out of bed and went to open the door. "Hey."

"Hikaru-chan! Come on! We're going to have dinner in town!" Nagisa exclaimed. "With Gou-chan and Ama-chan." He added.

Hikaru nodded. "Sure! I'd love to come."

Xxx

After dinner and sightseeing, they headed back to the hotel and got ready for bed since their events were the next day.

Her father must have gotten the dates mixed up. Or he forgot that the swim club had to go one day in advance to settle into the hotel.

Gou got into her bed, sat down and pulled the covers over her legs. "Are you okay, Hikaru-senpai? You weren't talking much during dinner."

Hikaru got into the other bed and pulled the covers over herself. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just-"

"-nervous about your event." Gou finished. "Hikaru-senpai, its okay to be nervous for your event but don't worry, you'll be great." She smiled at her.

Hikaru smiled back. "Thank you, Gou."

Gou smiled back. "You're welcome." She lied down and put the covers over herself. She turned off the light on the nightstand. "Good night, Hikaru-senpai. Sleep well; you need the energy for tomorrow."

"Good night, Gou."

And both girls fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day, the swim club was dressed and in the stadium, prepared for their events.

"It's finally time!" Nagisa exclaimed.

"I'm getting nervous." Rei said.

Makoto looked over at Haru. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…" Haru responded, looking away.

"It's almost time!"

"Let's go, Haru-chan!"

"Go get 'em, guys!" Gou cheered.

"Right!" They said in unison.

Makoto, Rei, Nagisa, Haru and Hikaru formed a circle and placed their hands in the middle with Hikaru's hand on top. "Then, let's each do the best we can and stay focused!" Makoto told them.

"Yeah!"

Xxx

Makoto was up first. It was his 100m backstroke.

"Go, go, go, go, go Makoto!" Gou cheered.

"Go, go, go, go, go Makoto!" Rei, Nagisa and Hikaru cheered.

"Swim, swim, swim, swim, swim Makoto!" Gou cheered.

"Swim, swim, swim, swim, swim Makoto!" Rei, Nagisa and Hikaru cheered.

"Last leg, last leg, last leg, last leg!"

"Last leg, last leg, last leg, last leg!"

Makoto had gotten 4th place and hadn't qualified for regionals.

Next was Rin's 100m freestyle. He and Haru weren't swimming in the same heat.

"And, swim!"

"Swim!"

"Swim!"

"Swim!"

Samezuka cheered loudly for their captain.

"That's amazing; he's already taken the lead!" Makoto said in awe.

"They're heading into the turn!" Rei told them.

"GO RIN!" Hikaru cheered.

"He's increased his lead during the turn!"

"No one can even compete with Rin-chan's speed!"

"He's so fast!"

Hikaru stared in awe. They were right. He was really fast. She was so enchanted by his swimming that no words came out of her mouth.

Rin's hand hit the side of the pool and he got first place!

"Onii-chan!" Gou exclaimed.

Hikaru had a big smile on her face. "Yay, Rin!" She cheered.

Next it was Haru's 100m freestyle.

Haru had gotten to the middle before his feet touched the bottom of the pool and what Haru just did shocked everybody.

"Haru-chan…"

"What happened?" Hikaru's hands went to her mouth.

In the locker room, Haru was getting dressed when Rin barged in.

Rin grabbed Haru's arm. "What do you think you were doing? Why the hell did you do that?!"

"It has nothing to do with you." Haru replied, calmly.

"Like hell it doesn't!" Rin spat. "That was an important match with all the scouts watching!"

"What do I care about that?" Haru asked. "Because scouts were watching? So I can set records in front of a crowd? None of that is what I swim for." Haru matched his gaze.

"Then what do you swim for?"

At that moment, Hikaru, Rei, Nagisa and Makoto appeared at the doorway.

"I swim for myself and my friends." Haru replied.

"Then swim for your friends and your own sake!" Rin told him. "Do you not understand what you do out there is going to impact your future?" He grabbed Haru's other arm. "Don't you have a dream?! Take this more seriously! I know you could-"

Haru shook Rin's hand away, lifted his arm and slammed one of the lockers with his fist, cutting Rin off.

Rin stared in shock.

Haru rose his voice. "You're the one who doesn't understand!" He shot back. "What dream? What future? It's you who cares about all that! I'm not you! I don't have any of that!"

Haru walked away from Rin and went to exit the room but saw his teammates there.

"Haru…"

"Haruka-senpai…"

"You guys were in here?" Haru frowned. "It's okay, Nagisa, Rei, Makoto. I'll swim in the relay with you. That's what I've come this far for." Then he turned to Hikaru. "I know you're going to ask…and I'm okay."

Hikaru smiled softly. "Good to hear."

xxx

It was Rei's event and he had gotten 5th place. But that wasn't good enough to move on to the finals.

"That was a personal best for him too." Makoto commented.

Nagisa wasn't able to qualify either.

Nagisa and Rei were resting against the wall after their events. Hikaru was with them too.

"I didn't have a prayer…"

"Me, either." Rei agreed. "Regionals really are something."

"You guys did a very good job though." Hikaru praised. "Don't discourage yourself because you didn't qualify."

Nagisa looked at her and grinned. "Ya, thank you Hikaru-chan."

"Thank you for those kind words, Hikaru-senpai." Rei gave her a smile.

Hikaru smiled at them. "You're welcome."

"But it isn't over yet!" Nagisa told them.

"That's right!" Hikaru chirped.

"Indeed. We still have the relay."

"Hey, you two. Good job out there." Makoto told them.

"Makoto-senpai." Rei acknowledged and stood up to face him.

"Huh? Are you alone, Mako-chan?" Nagisa asked, standing up too. "Where's Haru-chan?"

"He went off somewhere after Rin's race." Makoto replied. "I looked around for him a little, but I didn't find him."

"Don't worry." Nagisa smiled. "I'm sure he'll be back in time for the relay."

"That's right. After all, Haruka-senpai told us that he would swim in the relay with us."

Hikaru stood up. "I'll go and look for him."

"Hikaru-senpai, you don't have too."

"Don't worry, Rei. I insist. If I can't find him, I'll come back here." Hikaru smiled. "I'm in no rush; my event is after your relay."

Rei nodded and smiled.

Makoto smiled. "Thank you, Hikaru."

Xxx

Hikaru looked everywhere she knew to look inside before going outside. _Damnit, where is he?_ She checked her watch. She was walking around for at least 5 minutes. Okay, she was going to look a little longer before heading back inside.

But then she spotted him. He was sitting on a bench, looking up in the sky.

"Haru." She called out. When Haru didn't turn to her, she went over and sat on the bench next to him. "Haru." She tried again.

Haru turned over to her. "What?"

"Makoto, Rei and Nagisa were worried about you." Hikaru told him. "Even I was. You just walked off like that during Rin's race. Well, I mean…I didn't see you walk off because I was cheering for Rin. But I noticed you weren't there and I asked Makoto after and he-"

"Alright." Haru cut her off.

"Haru, let's get going."

"Do you have a dream?" Haru asked suddenly, looking down. "Do you know what you want to do in the future?"

Hikaru paused. Why was he asking this? Was it because of the conversation he and Rin were having before? It was really intense and Hikaru's couldn't help but picture herself in Haru's shoes. She has to tell Rin at some point that she doesn't want to be a professional swimmer. And she also has to tell her father that. "Yeah, I do."

Haru looked down and put his hand on his forehead. "Hikaru, why is it that can't find what I want to do in the future?"

"You'll find it." Hikaru replied.

"When?"

"It'll take time, Haru. But one day, you'll find it." Hikaru smiled at him.

Haru nodded and smiled a bit. "Thanks. Okay, let's get going."

"Hey Sousuke."

"That's Rin's voice." Hikaru whispered.

Haru glanced over at where Rin and Sousuke were talking.

"Haru, we should respect their privacy." Hikaru told him.

"Sousuke is probably telling Rin about his shoulder injury."

"You knew about that?"

"Yeah."

Hikaru fell silent.

"Hikaru, don't you think it's a good time for you to tell Rin about yours?"

At that moment, Rin clutched Sousuke's jacket and cried.

Hikaru tore her gaze away from Sousuke and Rin and stood up. "Come on…" She said softly. She turned around and began walking back to the stadium.

Haru closed his eyes and stood. He followed Hikaru and they went back to the stadium in silence.

Xxx

Now it was time for the 400m medley relay.

Each team was at their starting points and Iwatobi and Samezuka were next to each other.

"If you let your guard down, you're in for some pain." Nitori said.

"Be careful not to let that confidence end up jinxing you!" Nagisa told him.

"I'll show you my killer dolphin kick!" Momo told Makoto.

Makoto chuckled. "Sadly, I don't think you'll have time to show that off."

Sousuke glanced at Rei. "I'm in no mood to lose."

"What a coincidence. I'm in no mood to do anything but win." Rei shot back.

"This is our team." Rin said. "Our ultimate team." He added.

"Right, I'd say the same for our team." Haru said.

Makoto and Momo got into the pool and in position.

"Ready…swim!" The announcer said.

They jumped in and started swimming. Makoto and Momo were neck in neck but with Makoto's stroke, he was pulling ahead. They had touched the side of the pool at the same time and Nagisa and Nitori jumped in. With exchange practice, Nagisa jumped at a perfect time.

Nagisa was ahead of Nitori. But Nitori was slowly catching up. Nagisa touched the wall a couple of seconds before Nitori did.

Rei and Sousuke jumped into the water and began swimming.

Rei was in the lead but Sousuke caught up to him quickly. They did their turn but then Sousuke's shoulder caused him pain. He cried out and his body was slowly sinking.

"Yamazaki-senpai!" Momo and Nitori cried out in unison.

Sousuke's eyes were closed and he stayed under water unable to move.

"SOUSUKE!"

After hearing Rin, he opened his eyes, let out a scream and began swimming again.

"Go!" Nitori cheered.

"Last leg!"

Rin grinned.

Sousuke and Rei swam the hardest they could. They both touched the side of the pool at the same time.

"Rin!"

"Haruka-senpai!"

Haru and Rin both jumped in the water at the same time. They swam their hardest and when they got near the finish line, both of them reached out to touch the side of the wall.

It was really close but Iwatobi had gotten 1st place.

"We won!"

Makoto extended his hand to Haru. "Haru." He said, getting his attention.

Haru grabbed his hand and Makoto pulled him out of the pool.

"We did it!"

"We're really going to nationals!" Nagisa hugged Haru.

"It's like a dream." Rei wiped a tear away.

Rin was with his team. "You guys…you did great."

Momo grinned and wrapped his arm around Rin and Sousuke. "That was great!"

Rin laughed. "Hey!"

"Jeez, Momo-kun."

Rin, Momo and Nitori laughed and Sousuke just smiled.

"Thank you."

The other three looked at Sousuke. "Huh?"

Momo gave him a look. "Yamazaki-senpai, that look really doesn't suit you."

Rin and Momo laughed at that comment.

Xxx

After changing, each team went to their respective spots in the crowd.

Hikaru was with her team.

While Rei and Nagisa talked, Makoto went to talk to Hikaru.

"Hey, isn't it your event now?" Makoto asked, sitting next to her.

"I-I'm in the third heat. They're about to do the second heat." Hikaru replied, looking down at the hands that were placed on her lap.

Makoto looked at her. "You know that you don't have to go through with this."

"B-But…"

"It hurts a lot doesn't it? I didn't see you cheering for us or Rin's team."

Hikaru took a deep breath and pulled back the tears that threatened to spill. "I'm going to go." She looked up to see her father in the stands.

"Hikaru, you don't have to go if you don't want to. I understand."

"Women's 100m freestyle heat 3." The announcer said.

Hikaru stood and began walking to get ready for her event.

"Hikaru, wait!"

Xxx

"Alright now, boys!" Seijirou announced. "This is your captain's girlfriend so I want to hear you guys cheering like before!"

"Yes, sir!" They responded.

Rin smiled over at Hikaru. "I'll be cheering for you." He said softly.

"Rin, there is something you should know." Sousuke told him.

"Huh?"

Xxx

"Ready, set, swim!"

Hikaru jumped in the water and started swimming.

Makoto jumped out of his seat and ran towards the pool.

"Mako-chan! Where are you going?" Nagisa asked.

Makoto didn't respond but kept running.

Xxx

"Sousuke, what is it?" Rin asked. When he saw Makoto, standing at Hikaru's starting point, Rin put every piece together. "Oh my god."

Hikaru swam the hardest she could, trying to ignore the pain throughout her body. She wasn't going to lie, it hurt. It hurt everywhere. But she knew she had to keep going. It was really hard for her to concentrate with her crying and because of the goggles, the tears stayed in place. When she did her turn, that's when it really hit. She wasn't able to move her legs anymore. She tried the hardest she could with just moving her arms. But she was tired out. She cried out in pain and couldn't move anymore. She closed her eyes and that was when her body shut down.


	7. Chapter 7

Rin's eyes widened.

"Hikaru!"

"Hikaru-chan!"

"Hikaru-senpai!"

Makoto acted quickly. He tore off his jacket and ran into the pool. He didn't care if he wasn't allowed. Hikaru's life was on the line and he was going to save her.

Nagisa, Rei, Haru and Gou ran downstairs after Makoto. "Hikaru!"

Rin watched as Makoto carried Hikaru out of the pool. She was unconscious, her arms were dangling on her sides and Makoto even had to support her head. He was so scared for her. What happened was such a shock to him that he couldn't even move.

Makoto got out of the pool still carrying Hikaru. "Help please! We need a medic!"

"What happened to her?!" Gou asked, grabbing one of Hikaru's hands.

"It looks like her body shut down." Rei told her.

"What are we going to do?!"

"Don't worry, son. We got this covered." One of the medics told Nagisa. The medics had arrived quickly with a stretcher. "We're going to bring her to the hospital."

"Can we all go?" Haru asked.

"I'm afraid not." The medic replied. "Just two people."

"Okay, where's her father?" Makoto asked. "I don't see him anywhere."

"No time to look around to find him." Rei stated.

"Argh!" Nagisa put his hands on his head. "Okay, what about Rin-chan?"

Haru looked over at where Samezuka was cheering. "Not there."

"We're in a bit of a hurry here." The medic told them, having strapped Hikaru to the stretcher properly.

"Okay, okay! I'll go with her. I'm her cousin." Nagisa told the medic.

"I'll go with her too. I'm her best friend." Gou told the medic.

"Okay, everyone else. We'll pile up in my car." Miho told Makoto, Haru and Rei.

Xxx

Hikaru woke up a couple of hours later.

"Hikaru-chan!"

Hikaru looked up at the people surrounding her bed. A smile appeared on her face. "Hey."

"Oh Hikaru-chan!" Nagisa hugged her carefully. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

Makoto gave her a small smile. "You had us worried."

"And why didn't you tell us about your injury, Hikaru-senpai?"

Hikaru looked down at her hands and that was when Nagisa pulled away from her. "I-I…I'm sorry." Tears spilled down her face. "I knew I should have told you guys. But I didn't want to worry you."

"Hikaru…"

"What happened?" Hikaru asked, wiping her tears away.

"Your body shut down." Haru told her.

"In the water." Rei added.

"Oh my god."

"It was pretty serious." Makoto told her, sitting next to her on the bed. He placed his hand on her head. "But at least you're okay now."

Hikaru gave them a small smile. "I'm sorry for worrying you all. I feel okay now."

"Hikaru-senpai, it's okay. You're okay and you should take all the time you need to rest." Gou grinned over at her.

"Yes, I'll take all the time I need." Hikaru paused. "Time." She looked out the window and saw that it was dark outside. "What time is it?"

Rei checked his watch. "8:30pm" He replied.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"A couple of hours."

"And you guys stayed here the whole time?"

"Yeah, of course. You're our teammate."

Silent tears fell down her face. "T-Thank you. A-And I'm sorry again for not telling you."

Nagisa grinned. "Oh Hikaru-chan, stop crying. We forgive you. Don't worry about school or assignments because Mako -chan and Haru-chan will get you all your class notes, right guys?" He turned over to them to confirm the answer.

"Yes." Came Haru's instant reply.

"Of course." Makoto replied.

"Here, Hikaru-senpai. I bought you some magazines and other stuff to keep you busy during your stay here. The doctors don't know how long you'll be staying; that all depends on how fast you recover." Gou told her.

Hikaru gladly took the magazines. "Thank you, Gou-chan! I'll be sure to read these magazines."

Xxx

The boys, Gou and Miho had left an hour later because they had to get ready for school tomorrow and Miho had to prepare work. They insisted to keep her company longer. But Hikaru said it was best for them to leave and she assured them that she would be fine in the hospital room. She had to admit, she was feeling lonely all cooped up in there but sooner or later she would be out and at school with her friends again. The pile of magazines that Gou bought her was on a nearby chair so she wouldn't have to reach to get them. She was sitting upwards with pillows supporting her back and there was a little book stand supported by its two legs which were on each one of Hikaru's sides. That allowed her to read more comfortably and not to risk straining her neck.

Hikaru was given some food, which was good, it had filled her up. She was about to finish her magazine when there was a knock on the door. "Come in." She told them. It was probably a nurse to come check up on her. It was getting late and Hikaru wanted to go to bed soon, the nurse had told her that she would come and check up on her before Hikaru went to bed to see if everything was still okay. But the person who came through that door wasn't a nurse.

"Rin…"

Xxx

His name escaped Hikaru's lips before she had the chance to stop herself. She was at a loss for words. When Makoto told her that he hadn't joined them to bringing her to the hospital, she didn't even expect him to come. She was happy that he was here but she didn't know what to say or do.

And neither did he, it seemed. Rin was still standing at the doorway, head down and a shadow covering his eyes. He was still wearing his Samezuka track suit. Silence filled the room leaving only the footsteps of the nurses outside the room to be heard. Rin closed the door and stood at the doorway.

It took a couple of minutes but Hikaru finally told him the words she meant to say as soon as she saw him.

"I'm sorry."

Her words filled the air and Hikaru took a deep breath. Rin didn't have a reaction but Hikaru knew that she didn't regret saying them.

"I'm sorry?"

Hikaru almost jumped when she heard his voice. It was really low and sharp that it scared her.

"I'm _sorry?_ " Rin looked up at her, glaring. "Do you think after all that had happened, you have the right to say _sorry?"_

"R-Rin, I…"

"Do you know how it felt for me to see you being brought out of the pool by Makoto? Do you know how helpless I felt?!" Rin asked her, voice rising. "I had no idea what happened to you. I had no idea what was wrong and I hated myself for not doing anything about it. I better hear an explanation or I'll…"

"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd cry."

Rin looked at her, eyes widened. "God damnit, you too." He wiped away at his tears. "Did Sousuke tell you?"

"No, I was there when Sousuke told you about his shoulder injury." Hikaru said.

"You overheard."

"Yeah."

Rin looked away.

Hikaru pat the seat next to her bed. "Come, I'll explain everything. You deserve to know." She said.

Rin looked up at her and went over to sit down.

"It's completely my fault for waiting until now but I have to tell you." Hikaru took his hand. "I'm really truly sorry, Rin."

Rin looked over at her and nodded. "It's okay." He gave her a small smile.

Still grasping his hand, Hikaru started explaining.

"When I really liked an activity, he would always turn it into competitions and make me take lessons to the point that I didn't want to do it anymore. I really enjoyed swimming so I did all I could for him to not find out. But unfortunately, he did." Hikaru took a deep breath. "That's why, in secret, I would go and swim at Samezuka academy."

"Samezuka academy?"

"My father went there and he was the captain and he had kept the key for some reason, I don't know why. But anyways, he was very keen in having me train. I would have to go every night. Remember when you took me out for my birthday? Ya, I was supposed to go that night too. But I had brought a change of clothes and tried to be discreet about it." She let out a sigh. "He found out eventually."

Rin nodded.

"Days before the tournament, my body was starting to feel sore and I was worried that something bad might happen to me. I did want to not train for one night but he pestered me to go and I'm so afraid of him that I couldn't say no."

Rin clenched his fist.

"And then, that was it. Here we are today. I'm in a hospital and the doctors told me that I can't swim for a year. My body has to recover and with intense swimming, it could hurt my body again. So I'm going to avoid that." Hikaru said. "It's okay to me because I don't want to be a professional swimmer."

Rin looked at her. "What? But I thought…"

"This is another thing I should tell you."

Hikaru was interrupted by the door opening slightly. Her eyes widened when her father walked in.

"Hikaru…"

Rin immediately rose from the bed and went over to her father. He used both of his hands to grab his collar. "What makes you think you could come in here after what you did to her?!" He spat. "Forcing her to practice swimming?" He was clutching his collar so hard that his nails were digging into the palm of his hand.

"Rin, stop it!"

Rin ignored her "Don't you know that this could have gotten worse?!" He was so mad and father or not, Rin was going to make sure that his words got through her father's head.

Hiro Hazuki stayed silent. He looked over at his daughter. He hated seeing her in a hospital bed like that and knowing that he was the cause of it…

A silent tear fell down Hiro's face. "I'm sorry."

Rin's eyes widened and he let go of his collar.

Hiro looked over at his daughter. "I'm sorry." He repeated. "I didn't know that it would get this serious. I didn't…expect this to happen."

"Expect?! What did you _expect_ to happen?" Rin shot back.

"I didn't want her to end up in the hospital."

"So why did you make her over train every single _fucking_ day?" Rin's voice was low. "So she could be the swimmer you never were? So she could win trophies you never won?"

With everything Rin was saying, Hiro was feeling guiltier by the minute. And he felt he deserved it. He had nothing to say that could make this situation better. What he did was wrong and seeing his daughter in a hospital bed made it all worse. It made him remember when he hurt his shoulder and was never able to swim again.

" _I like swimming with my friends for fun."_

That's what she told him that night. But he didn't take into her feelings and forced her to do something she didn't want. He took a deep breath. "Hikaru, I'm sorry." He said again. He hoped his constant apologizes would make Hikaru forgive him.

"It's okay."

Hiro looked over at her. She had a small smile on her face.

"What?"

Hiro and Hikaru looked over at Rin who was clenching his fist.

"You're just going to forgive him like that?" Rin turned to her and matched her gaze. "He caused your body to shut down _in the water._ And if it wasn't for Makoto getting you out right away, something worse could have happened to you."

Hiro narrowed his eyes over at Rin. "You're making it seem like the blame is all on me. Why didn't _you_ rush to get her out of the water?"

Rin clenched his fists.

"Stop arguing! I'm fine now. I'm alive and breathing well." Hikaru assured.

"No, you're not _fine_. You won't be able to swim for a year. You love swimming and I hate myself for taking that away from you." Hiro told her, tears spilling down his face. "I loved swimming too…and ever since the accident, I haven't been able to swim at all. And when I found out you were swimming, I wanted you to become the swimmer I wished I was. That's why I made you train so hard like that. I'm really sorry, Hikaru."

"I said its okay, dad."

Hiro looked up at his daughter. Those were the words he wanted to hear ever since he got into the room. She said them before and now she said them again.

"What you did to me was…well painful. But I'm okay now. I won't quit swimming. No, no." Hikaru smiled. "But I want you to stop making my decisions for me. I know what I want to do in the future."

Rin went over to her and sat down on the bed. He then grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers and waited for Hikaru to speak.

"I don't want to get scouted and be put on a professional team. To be honest, after what happened, I don't expect to be." Hikaru let out a little laugh. "I want to teach kids to swim. When I volunteered with Makoto at the swim club, I really enjoyed it. Ever since that day, I decided that I wanted to be a swimming instructor for kids." She looked down at her hands. "I know this might be wrong for me to say but…I'm…kind of glad…"

Rin's eyes widened.

"…I got hurt."

" _WHAT?!_ How can you say that?!"

"Think about it, Rin. If I had won first place, I would have gotten to nationals and become a professional swimmer. Where as in here, I was able to say what I wanted to do in the future."

Rin nodded. "I…I guess so."

Hikaru leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

Rin smiled a bit and shook his head. "It's okay."

"Have you decided what school you want to go to?" Hiro asked, sitting down on her bed. After the tension in the room has lifted, he felt it was okay to go over and sit down next to her.

"Yeah, they have a program at a university in Tokyo."

"That's great." Hiro smiled. Then he turned to Rin. "I don't believe we've formally met. I'm Hiro Hazuki, Hikaru's father." He stretched out his left arm for Rin to shake.

"Rin Matsuoka." Rin smiled. "I've been dating your daughter for a year now."

"Nice to see that she met a nice guy." Hiro's smile disappeared. "But if you hurt her-"

Rin blinked. "I won't…sir"

Hiro raised a brow and laughed. "No need for that, Rin."

A nurse suddenly came into the room. "I'm sorry, the visiting hours are over."

Hiro stood up and kissed his daughter's head. "I'll come back to visit tomorrow after work."

"Okay, see you then!"

Hiro left the room.

The nurse looked at Rin.

Rin nodded. "Can I have just 5 more minutes?"

"I'm sorry, but…"

"Please?" Rin asked again.

The nurse nodded and smiled. "5 more minutes." Then she left the room.

"Hikaru, have I told you what I wanted to do in the future?"

"No."

"I want to go to Australia and ask to join the swim team."

"That's great." Hikaru smiled.

"But that means I'll live in Australia. You'll be in Tokyo. I don't want to do the long distance thing."

Hikaru smiled over at him and cupped his face with her right hand. "It'll only be for two years. That is how long my program is. Then I'll pack up and move to Australia to be with you. I even started to practice my English! I'm going to take a complementary course in university! I'm so excited to learn English! I know a little bit." She cleared her throat. " **Hi, my name is Hazuki Hikaru.** " She was saying her words carefully and slowly. " **How are you? Nice to meet you. I like swimming.** " She blushed of embarrassment. She wasn't really confident in her English and Rin was the first person to hear her speak another language.

Rin stayed silent after hearing her plans in the future.

"Rin?" Hikaru asked, worried. He didn't say anything after a while.

Rin finally hugged her. "You'd do that for me?"

"Yeah."

Rin smiled happily and then kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too."

The nurse interrupted their little moment by knocking on the door. "5 minutes is up."

"Oh sorry." Rin kissed her forehead. "I'll be back tomorrow."

"Okay." She smiled.

"Have you told your father about your plans?" Rin asked, standing up.

"No, I didn't yet. But I'll tell him tomorrow."

"And I'll be there to support you."

Hikaru grinned at him. "Sounds great."

With Rin having gone, the nurse did some tests before she went to bed. Hikaru didn't have to worry because everything was good. Hikaru got comfortable in bed and closed her eyes.

The nurse left the room and shut the door behind her leaving Hikaru to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

The two weeks that Hikaru was required to stay in the hospital flew by quickly. She was kept company by the frequent visits of her swim team, Gou, her father, Rin and even Sousuke, Momo and Nitori. She was surprised to see them but their visit made her happy!

When her father came to visit two weeks ago the day after Rin left, Hikaru told him what she had to. She told him that after she graduated university, she wanted to move to Australia to live with Rin. It took her a while to muster up the courage to tell him and she was nervous to see and hear his reaction. But she had worried for nothing. He accepted her decision and supported it as well. He wasn't going to tell her what to do anymore.

They had made the compromise that he came with her. Not living with her, just being in Australia. Hiro felt nervous about sending her to Australia alone so he wanted to come along. Luckily, his company has a building there so he could just transfer location. Hiro asked his boss in advance and he said it was okay. Until Hikaru graduated, Hiro was going to work here in Japan.

Hikaru had to admit, she was also nervous of going to Australia alone. Her father was going to be there at least. They were going to live in different cities though. It was better to be 30mins apart than almost 11 hours apart. Hikaru was looking forward to her future and couldn't wait to see what it had in store.

Xxx

During the first week, Makoto and Haru would come visit her and bring the notes that they took in class. They didn't come to visit her all the time though. Nationals were coming quickly and Hikaru didn't want to be the cause of lack of practice. The final exam was coming up and they wanted to help Hikaru study. Even in Hikaru's free time she studied. She made sure to study hard and ask a lot of questions of what she didn't understand. She wanted to pass this test and not take the year over again.

The next week, Rin told her he was going to Australia with Haru for a couple of days. Hikaru was glad that Rin was taking Haru to Australia. With Haru not knowing what he wants to do in the future, this trip might have him figure it out.

There was a knock at the door and Hikaru knew immediately who it was.

"Come in, Makoto!"

Makoto opened the door and entered the room. Today was a great day. Hikaru was getting out of the hospital and Rin and Haru were coming back from Australia. Today was the perfect time to be getting out. Nationals were two days away and Hikaru really wanted to be there to cheer everyone on. So when the doctor told her the good news, she cried tears of joy.

It didn't hurt for Hikaru to move anymore and she was able to walk but she just had to take it easy. The 'no year of swimming' was still in effect.

"Are you ready?"

Hikaru nodded. She was dressed in jeans and a hoodie that her father brought her from home. "I'm ready!" She got up from the bed and went over to Makoto. Her father had brought her bag home so she didn't have to carry much. She only had her cell phone on her.

"Haru and Rin should be at the airport in a bit. Their flight landed already."

"Okay! Let's go, let's go!"

Xxx

Upon arriving at the airport, Hikaru and Makoto waited for Haru and Rin. When the boys saw them, Hikaru and Makoto waved.

"Makoto! Hikaru!" Rin exclaimed.

"Rin!" Hikaru trotted over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She planted a big kiss on his lips.

Rin smiled happily and kissed her back. "It's nice to see you out of that hospital bed up and about." He grinned.

Hikaru giggled. "Ya! I'm happy too."

"You guys came all this way to meet us at the airport?" Rin asked.

"Yeah!"

"You guys must be tired after your long trip." Makoto said, directing his attention on Haru.

Haru wanted to say something but nothing could come out. He still felt really bad about what happened with him and Makoto.

"Haru…"

Haru looked up at Makoto.

"Welcome home."

Xxx

Nationals were finally here. It was the day that the swim team had been looking forward to. It's what they've been training so hard to make to.

Hikaru was in the stands with Gou, Miho and Coach Sasabe. The relay started and everyone cheered the loudest that they could. Tears formed in Hikaru's eyes when the boys won first place. She was so happy for them. They worked really hard for this win.

Xxx

Haru, Hikaru and Makoto had a flight to Tokyo in two hours but first, they had to stop by at Samezuka because Rin had told them that he had something he wanted to show them.

But first, they had to go to the swim club and the boys wrote down all the sights they saw during the relay. Hikaru was not part of the relay, so she wrote about how grateful she was to be part of the swim club.

"Oh, can I open one now?" Coach Sasabe asked, reaching for a sealed envelope.

"No, you can't!" Hikaru responded.

"We're going to open them in a few years when we're all together again." Rei told him.

Makoto glanced at his watch. "We better go. We still have to stop by Samezuka academy."

Xxx

Upon arriving at Samezuka, the Iwatobi swim club came face to face with Samezuka's former swim captain.

"Now, I'll show you the most incredible sight you've never seen before, right here!" Rin opened the pool doors and each member of the swim club stared in awe.

The pool was covered in cherry blossom petals.

"OH MY GOD!" Escaped Hikaru's lips. It was such a beautiful sight. She had never seen anything like this. "I want to swim in this!"

The boys let out a laugh.

"Well I can't swim in this, per the doctor's orders…but I'll just float or something! Yeah that's it!" Hikaru rambled.

"Yes, we definitely will. I just have to give you something first."

Hikaru looked over at Rin who was holding a ring in front of her. "R-Rin…"

There was a blush on his cheeks. "It's not…I mean…it's just a promise ring." He showed her his hand and that he had one too. "I love you, Hikaru. And in 2 years, when you come to Australia, I'll give you the real thing."

Happy tears fell down Hikaru's cheeks. "I love you too, Rin."

Rin put the promise ring on her finger.

Hikaru looked at the boys. "You guys knew about this."

"Of course we did!" They replied in unison.

Rin let out a laugh.

They all undressed and ran towards the pool.

In the water, they all splashed each other happily while Haru floated in the water.

Hikaru went over to Rin and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you."

Rin wrapped his arms around her waist. "I love you too."

And they kissed.


	9. Epilogue

_Four years later…._

It was a long wait but the swim club and Rin were finally reunited back in their hometown. After the constant planning and messages, the day was finally here. They were going to meet at the swim club first and then go out for dinner to reminisce. Rin, Hikaru and Haru took their flight from Australia. They had made living arrangements to stay in Japan for a week before going back home. Nagisa, Rei and Makoto were currently in Japan and had been at the swim club when the other trio showed up.

They were all very emotional. Despite the constant skyping and messages, it meant so much more to see everyone in person. The first half hour consisted of hugging, crying and telling each other about everything that happened in the four years. They were meeting at the swim club to read the time capsule letters. After Makoto, Rei, Nagisa and Haru read their letters, it was Hikaru's turn.

Hikaru pulled out the letter from the box. She took it out of the envelope and unfolded it. She remembered how much thought she put into this letter and how neatly hand written it was. "I didn't swim in the relay at nationals but I decided to write a special letter." She took a deep breath as the five boys stood in front of her, ready to listen.

"I just wanted to say I'm really grateful for joining the swim team and being able to meet all you guys." Hikaru smiled. "I had such great memories with each and every one of you and I'm so grateful to have been a part of the team. I was a bit nervous of joining the team because my past experiences on a school sport team were awful. But I decided to push that aside and join the swim team because I wanted to start high school fresh and to not make my decisions involving the past."

Smiles were on the boy's faces and at this point, Hikaru lowered the letter and faced each of them directly, casually shifting her eye contact from each boy.

"So I went for it. I joined the swim team and it was the best decision I ever made…well, except saying yes to you, Rin!" Hikaru locked eyes with her fiancé and grinned.

Rin smiled back at her.

"I had some difficulty swimming at first and I expected you to push me away, annoyed of how I wasn't learning right away, but no, you all, even you Rei," She smiled at him. "Even a beginner like you helped me learn better and taught me more. You guys helped me and encouraged me to do better and I did. Though, I'm kind of happy that I had the trouble swimming, if not, I wouldn't have met you, Rin."

Rin nodded. "True."

"I was so happy when we all went to prefecturals, regionals and nationals together. Though we all weren't in the same events, you cheered me on and I really liked that. I did feel a little left out when you would all swim in the relay together but when I saw the relay, how well you guys swam in it and how in sync you were, made me really happy." Then came the water works. "But then when Haru, Makoto, Rin and I graduated, I was really upset." The letter fell to the floor and Hikaru was unaware that she released her grip on it. "Because I knew that we'd never be able to swim on a team like we used to anymore." She covered her face with her hands. "And that's what I miss the most."

Rin quickly went over to her and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry that you had to keep all those feelings in."

Makoto wiped a tear away. "I'm glad that you were on the swim team too."

"Yeah." Haru agreed. "I had a lot of fun together."

"But you don't have to worry about that Hikaru-chan." Nagisa said. "Because we're together now."

Rei gave her a smile. "And we have to enjoy the time we have."

Makoto smiled. "Ya, and we're going to see each other for the wedding next year too."

Hikaru looked up at Rin with her teary eyes. "That's right." She smiled and wiped her tears away. "We'll see each other again."

"And many more times after that."


End file.
